As the DJ duo Icona Pop, they have experienced the double standards and differed expectations that have long affected women in the music industry. So when the pair known for the hit “I Love It” started their U.S. college tour this fall, they sought to connect with female leaders on campus.

Hjelt and Jawo created the “Icona Talk,” a preconcert discussion with students in leadership roles at each of the 10 schools on the Campus Consciousness Tour. The Swedish music stars hoped that through conversation, they and the student leaders would learn from and inspire each other.

The tour came to Bates, its final stop, on Nov. 1. Five students were selected to take part in the Icona Talk on the strength of short essays explaining their leadership roles and interests. Each woman was awarded $100 and the opportunity to bring two guests to the talk and the concert that followed.

At 8 p.m. on that Saturday, 16 Bates students sat in a circle in the lobby of Alumni Gym for the talk. Once Hjelt and Jawo arrived, each student leader briefly talked about her work.

Annakay Wright ’17 of Brooklyn, N.Y., described supporting first-year students as a junior adviser, as well as her contributions as a leader in the performance group Sankofa and as a mentor for students struggling with their sexuality.

Allen Kendunga ’18 spoke about her passion for empowering women to express themselves. She compared her opportunity to have her voice heard at Bates to her home, in Kigali, Rwanda. “Where I come from, you are not allowed to speak in public at all. So now that I have this opportunity to speak, and to express my ideas, I just want everyone to feel the same way.”

For Claire Brown ’17 of Rockville Centre, N.Y., the focus is the environment and law. As a Bates EcoRep, Brown engages the campus in sustainability issues — a second focus of the Campus Consciousness Tour — and helps students understand their impact on the environment. Brown, who has undertaken an internship in a Lewiston courtroom, wants to become a lawyer.

Shana Wallace ’15 of Pleasantville, N.Y., manages a large farmer’s market in her home state, experience that has taught her about environmental impact. On campus, as a co-coordinator with the Multifaith Chaplaincy, she has worked to create social change. She stressed the need for women to “take up their own space.”

Taylor Blackburn ’15 highlighted her experience on the debate team, traditionally a male-dominated activity. A nationally recognized debater, this resident of Sonoma, Calif., has worked to bring more women into debate, both as a leader on Bates’ Brooks Quimby Debate Council and in settings outside Bates. She wants to be a screenwriter and improve female representation in film.

The musicians offered encouragement and shared personal stories to validate the students’ efforts. “We hear this, and it gives us so much inspiration,” Jawo said.

She also spoke to the uncertainty that many students feel about pursuing their passions after college. “Once you find your passion, just do it 100 percent. If it doesn’t work out, then you at least tried, and then you can change direction.”

Starting out as Icona Pop was a challenge, Hjelt added. “Everyone told us how the music industry worked. And we were like, Yeah, we know, we’ve heard all the stories, we’ve heard how it’s supposed to be.

“But that’s the biggest challenge: to not accept it. That’s what you all are doing now. You’re not accepting it.”

For Wallace, the encounter had the intended effect. “It’s incredibly important to see prominent artists supporting and empowering young women,” she said later.

“Society as a whole and many industries are not encouraging of young women, and misogyny is internalized to the point where even women are taught to discourage the efforts of other women. So this kind of powerful representation matters.”

Wallace added, “Caroline and Aino were accessible, kind and encouraging, and I loved speaking with them.”

]]>http://www.bates.edu/news/2014/11/04/with-the-icona-talk-icona-pop-spreads-female-empowerment/feed/0Rescheduled: Women in public leadership to discuss challenges, rewardshttp://www.bates.edu/news/2013/03/19/women-public-leadership/
http://www.bates.edu/news/2013/03/19/women-public-leadership/#respondTue, 19 Mar 2013 11:55:27 +0000http://www.bates.edu/news/?p=62790The panel discussion "Women in Public Leadership" scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, has been postponed because of weather and will take place on March 26.]]>

Margaret Rotundo, Maine state representative and director of special initiatives at Bates’ Harward Center.

Note to readers: The panel discussion “Women in Public Leadership” scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, has been postponed because of weather.

This Women’s History Month event, in which eight women known as Maine leaders will discuss the rewards and challenges of their work, has been rescheduled for one week hence — 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in the Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

Bates Trustee Laura Young.

Admission is open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-8376. The event is sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Education at Bates and the student organizations Women of Color and the Women’s Advocacy Group.

Young is the vice president of philanthropy for the Maine Community Foundation. She worked previously as senior vice president and director of corporate philanthropic initiatives at Demont & Associates, a Portland firm providing philanthropic counsel and related services to nonprofit organizations.

Prior to moving to Maine in 1995, Young worked in Washington, D.C., at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as a staff member for George Mitchell during his time as U.S. Senate majority leader. In 2009, Laura was appointed to the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, Bates College.

Policy expert Mary Cathcart.

Cathcart is a senior policy associate in the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. She leads the Maine NEW Leadership program, a nonpartisan summer program for Maine college women interested in careers in government and politics. She received the Women, Work and Community’s Merle Nelson Women Making a Difference Award in 2011.

An advocate for domestic violence awareness and prevention, Cathcart chaired the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Wellness. She serves on, and is a past chair of, the New England Board of Higher Education.

Chosen as a state representative in 2002, Craven was elected to the Maine Senate in 2008 and again in 2012. In addition to her political work, Craven is a respite coordinator and group home administrator.

Craven was born into an impoverished family of 11 in Ireland and came to the U.S. in the 1963 at age 17. After moving to Maine, she earned a high school diploma, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and began work with senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Now an independent policy researcher living in Portland, Kraemer previously taught history at Vassar College, Southern Methodist University, George Mason University, Colby College and the University of Maine at Orono.

In 1983, NASA recruited her to serve as the civil space program’s chief historian. Ten years later, she was appointed to the federal Senior Executive Service, and shifted her focus at NASA to national space policy coordination and development.

Historian Sylvia Kraemer.

O’Brien founded the Children’s Discovery Museum in Augusta and served as its executive director. She served in the Legislature for eight years, becoming known as a strong advocate for children and families. She belonged to the commission overseeing the merger of the departments of behavioral health and of health and human services. As co-chair of the Committee on Children and Families, she made nearly 100 recommendations for the working of the new department.

In 2005, O’Brien became executive director of the Maine Republican Party, a position she held for three years. She has also served as the president of the Maine chapter of the National Association for the Mentally Ill, and was recently honored as the recipient of the first “Presidential Award” given by the chapter. She serves on the advisory board for Maine NEW Leadership.

Olsen was elected as a Maine state representative for House District 64 and was appointed to serve on the Marine Resources Committee for the 125th Legislature. A building contractor and carpenter, she works with her husband in their business, Olsen Custom Builders. She has also worked as an educational technician in special education and as a manager and guide for a Maine whitewater rafting company.

State Rep. Kim Olsen.

Rotundo was elected to the Maine State Senate in 2000 and in 2008 was elected to the House of Representatives. She chairs the Appropriations Committee, overseeing the state’s $6.3 billion biennial budget. She has sponsored legislation that has created greater public access to government information; a cleaner environment; greater educational opportunities; and better services for veterans and the elderly.

In 1995 she helped found the Center for Service-Learning at Bates, now called the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, which facilitates service opportunities for Bates students in Lewiston and Auburn. She is director of special initiatives at the center.

Sterling-Golden serves on the board of the Maine Academy of Modern Music and on the advisory boards of NEW Leadership Maine and Emerge Maine. She is a past president of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, a selective global leadership program sponsored in part by the Yale Law School. She is a past elected representative to the Maine Democratic State Committee.

A native of the Upper Kennebec Valley region, she was a working folk and rock musician for a decade before becoming, she says, a responsible member of society.

]]>http://www.bates.edu/news/2013/03/19/women-public-leadership/feed/0Political, educational leaders to share experiences in ‘Women and Leadership’ panelhttp://www.bates.edu/news/2012/03/22/women-leaders-panel/
Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:35:28 +0000http://www.bates.edu/news/?p=53261Marking National Women's History Month, six female political and educational leaders discuss the challenges and achievements in their careers.]]>

In observance of National Women’s History Month, Bates College presents six female political and educational leaders from Maine in a discussion of the challenges and achievements that have marked their careers at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, in Chase Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

Titled “Women and Public Leadership,” the panel is open to the public at no cost. It is part of a series of National Women’s History Month Events presented at Bates by the student organizations Women of Color and the Women’s Advocacy Group.

For more information, please contact Office of Intercultural Education program coordinator Megan Taft at 207-786-8376.

Moderated by Janet Waldron, vice president of administration and finance at the University of Maine, the panel consists of state Sen. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston; Jill Duson, former mayor of Portland; former state Rep. Julie O’Brien, R-Augusta; state Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston; and former president of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, Martha Sterling-Golden. The discussion will offer a chance for the panelists to reflect on their achievements and the challenges they have faced as women leaders.

Janet Waldron

Waldron has held her present position at the University of Maine since 2003. Under her leadership, the campus has increased efficiencies; strengthened its environmental, safety and risk programs; renovated its dining and auxiliary services; improved its community relationships; and maintained a balanced budget despite economic challenges. Waldron is also an adjunct faculty member at the university.

Prior to joining University of Maine senior management, Waldron served the state of Maine for more than a decade, most recently as commissioner of administrative and financial services. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of New Hampshire and worked toward a graduate master’s degree at Dartmouth College.

Craven was born into an impoverished family of 11 in Ireland. Her father worked odd jobs and her mother was a housewife. Craven came to the U.S. in the 1963 at the age of 17. After moving to Maine, she earned a high school diploma, bachelor’s and master’s degrees and began work with the disabled and senior citizens.

Elected as a Maine state representative in 2002, Craven was elected to the Senate in 2008 and re-elected in 2010. In addition to her political work, Craven is a respite coordinator and group home administrator.

State Sen. Margaret Craven.

Compliance manager for the Maine Human Rights Commission, Duson is in her fourth term as a Portland city councilor, during which tenure she served two terms as mayor. A former director of the Maine Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Duson has pursued both a successful professional career and a calling to community service.

A Pennsylvania native, she earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and literature from Antioch College and a doctorate in law from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

A longtime advocate in elderly issues and rights, in 1987 Duson began 15 years of specialized work in government/regulatory relations, corporate philanthropy and internal organizational development with Maine’s two largest public utility companies.

O’Brien is the founder of the Children’s Discovery Museum in Augusta and served as its executive director for many years. She served in the Legislature for eight years, holding positions on the standing committees of Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Health and Human Services and Appropriations and Financial Affairs.

In 2005, after leaving the Legislature, O’Brien became executive director of the Maine Republican Party, a position she held for three years. Among numerous community service roles, she has most recently served as president of the Maine chapter of the National Association for the Mentally Ill.

In 2000 Rotundo was elected to the Maine State Senate, serving until 2008, when she was elected into the Maine House of Representatives. During her tenure in the Senate, she served as the chair of the Appropriations and the State and Local Government committees; and served on the committees of Education and Cultural Affairs, Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bills in the Second Reading and Senate Ethics.

As representative, Rotundo has sponsored legislation that has created greater public access to government information; a cleaner environment; greater educational opportunities; and better services for veterans and the elderly. She helped found the Center for Service-Learning at Bates in 1995, now called the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, which facilitates service opportunities for Bates students in Lewiston and Auburn. She is director of special initiatives at the center.

Martha Sterling-Golden

Sterling-Golden is a past president of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, a selective global leadership program sponsored in part by the Yale Law School every summer in New Haven. A 1995 alumna of WCSY, she was elected to the board of directors in 2005, then president of the school in 2006, serving one term before stepping down in 2008.

With 17 years in the nonprofit sector in development and board service, Sterling-Golden brings experience in triage and major organizational change in environmental, cultural and global leadership environments. She is a past elected representative to the Maine Democratic State Committee. A native of the Upper Kennebec Valley region, she was a working folk and rock musician for a decade before becoming a responsible member of society.